 | The examples and perspective in this articledeal primarily with the United States and do not represent aworldwide view of the subject. You mayimprove this article, discuss the issue on thetalk page, orcreate a new article, as appropriate.(May 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Atrigger law is alaw that is unenforceable but may achieve enforceability if a key change in circumstances occurs.[1]
In the United States, thirteen states,Arkansas,Idaho,Kentucky,Louisiana,Mississippi,Missouri,North Dakota,Oklahoma,[2]South Dakota,Tennessee,Texas,[3]Utah, andWyoming,[4] enacted trigger laws that would automaticallyban abortion in the first and second trimesters if the landmark caseRoe v. Wade were overturned.[5][6][7] WhenRoe v. Wade was overturned on 24 June 2022,[8] some of these laws were in effect, and presumably enforceable, immediately.[9] Other states' trigger laws took effect 30 days after the overturn date, and others take effect upon certification by either the governor or attorney general.[9]Illinois formerly had a trigger law (enacted in 1975) but repealed it in 2017.[10][11][12]
Eight states, among themAlabama,Arizona,West Virginia, andWisconsin, as well as the already mentioned Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas, still have their pre-Roe v. Wade abortion bans on the law books. InNorth Carolina, a prohibition on abortions after 20 weeks (excepting medical emergencies) was passed in 1973 but unenforceable due toRoe v. Wade and a court ruling that it was unconstitutional[13][14] until it was reinstated by U.S. District JudgeWilliam Osteen Jr. in August 2022.[15] According to a 2019Contraception Journal study, the reversal ofRoe v. Wade and implementation of trigger laws (as well as other states considered highly likely to ban abortion), "In the year following a reversal, increases in travel distance are estimated to prevent 93,546 to 143,561 women from accessing abortion".[16]
TheAffordable Care Act allowed states to opt in to a program of health care expansion, which allowed more residents to qualify forMedicaid. The cost of this expansion was primarily borne by the federal government, but the percent paid by the federal government was scheduled to decrease each year, reaching 95% by 2017 and below 90% by 2021; the remainder would be assumed by the state. As of 2017, eight states had laws that would trigger an end to participation in Medicaid expansion, if federal funding fell below a particular level.[17][18][19][needs update] Unlike abortion trigger laws prior to the overturning ofRoe v. Wade, these are not unconstitutional at the moment and are only inactive because they rely on certain conditions to activate.
In the 2015 Supreme Court decisionObergefell v. Hodges, all state constitutional and statutory bans ofsame-sex marriage were madenull and void. However, if the precedent was overturned it would restore the bans in thirty-five states.[20] In his concurring opinion inDobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Supreme Court JusticeClarence Thomas said the court should reconsider theObergefell ruling.[21]Nevada became the first state to repeal its amendment banning same-sex marriage and recognize it in theNevada state constitution in 2020.[22]
In July 2023, theIndianapolisCity-County Council passedan assault weapons ban trigger law, which can only go into effect once theIndianagun controlstate preemption law is repealed or invalidated.
Richmond, California has strict ordinances related torent control that will take effect in the event that the statewideCosta–Hawkins Rental Housing Act is repealed.[23]
The states ofIowa andNew Hampshire have trigger laws mandating that the election administrators place theIowa caucuses and theNew Hampshire presidential primary ahead of any other state's nomination event for presidential candidates of major parties.
TheNational Popular Vote Interstate Compact uses a trigger portion in which theinterstate compact comes into effect upon accession by enough states amounting to 270 electoral votes.
California passedProposition 50 in 2025, which allows theCalifornia Legislature to pass a temporary congressional district map only in response to other states passing mid-decade maps of their own. The Virginia General Assembly placedsimilar legislation on the state ballot in 2026.
In 2024,North Dakota passed Initiated Measure 1, which mandates age limits on candidates running for election to either house of Congress from the state. The amendment remains unenforceable underU.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton (1995).[24]
Media related toTrigger law at Wikimedia Commons